after engaging in just a short conversation, my sister was heartbroken over this girl. she texted me the story and asked that i would pray for her. even though she has seen many sick children (her own best friend's daughter is still in a coma from a freak playground accident years ago), something was different about madeline. something that gave her chills and brought tears to her eyes. in the midst of her sickness, she was happy; and she was okay with being sick.
my sister told me the story and asked me to pray for madeline. she had been touched by her story, and wanted my prayers so that this little one would not die.
as i began to pray for dear madeline last night, i felt like the Lord revealed a lot to me in my unscripted prayer to Him. so often we question why young, innocent children have to suffer; why they don't get the shot at life that we have been so graciously given. as i interceded for healing on madeline's behalf, i realized how the glory of the Lord had come full-circle.
our God, the Lord and Creator of the universe, revealed to Abraham all of the stars in the sky. He knew exactly how many there are; He placed them there. we are told in the Bible that He knitted us in our mother's womb. He has numbered our breaths and the hairs on our head. He knows the perfect balance to our healthy body, and if He so chooses, He could breathe perfected life into Madeline's tiny frame.
but just as He's numbered our breaths, He also knows our hearts intimately. He knows what we can handle, and who can handle what. He knows that Madeline can, and is handling this, and with just grace and joy. and in that, she is touching the lives of unsuspecting strangers in line at a Disney theme park.
Illness and disease and pain are not how God intended for us to live, but they are consequences of the Fall; of the original sin that set us apart from God thousands or millions of years ago. sin entered this world to take the glory from God and we have constantly grappled with how to control it and destroy it without getting caught in it's death-grip.
this illness could have very easily, and in my mind, justifiably-so, left Madeline embittered and disenfranchised, even at her early age. but God has used the suffering of this little girl to bring joy to a fallen world, to bring others closer to Him, to even have my sister reach out for prayer. the glory is His.
as just such a small, finite part of the master-plan of an infinite God, our tiny brains do not have the capacity to understand the webbed-workings of His hand. to be honest, even if i could, i likely wouldn't choose to, because to understand the complexity of a God that manages the lives of billions of people that have been woven together through Him throughout history-- woah; i would not be able to leave my room trying to understand that majesty of it all. because of that, i know that i can not know why He chooses to work in the way He does. is it fair that Madeline or children around the world are sick and dying and don't get the same shot in life that we have been given? absolutely not. is it heartbreaking? even to the Lord, i'm certain. but even in all of it, i trust that He knows far better than i do. that His plans are purposed and righteous. would i be as courageous and joyful as precious Madeline? i certainly hope so; although i couldn't imagine much a tougher thing to do. above all, how we live and act and react is what brings glory to God; and in light of her situation, with only yesterday's flash-vignette of her joy-through-suffering, i would say she is doing just that.
i ask you as you read this, if you read this, to pray for Madeline. i don't know a thing about her, aside from she's very sick, from Texas, likes nail polish and has a radiating joy about her. pray for a miracle, pray for grace and mercy, pray for healing. and pray for strength, that no matter what may come of this situation, that she would have the courage and strength to remain joyful, that no scheme of the enemy could ever steal her joy.
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